Chance or fortune allow us to face this campaign through the prism of an exceptional book and series. Sherwood, accessible on Filmin, is a BBC production that updates the social wounds left in the north of England by the closure of the coal mines in the 1980s. In Polarizados, Luis Miller theorizes about the causes and consequences of the political fracture in Spain, as well as possible solutions.
The plot of the series is threaded through the activity of an unexpected murderer who terrifies the community with his bow and arrows.. The anti-hero, also hooded, hides in the woods that served as a lair for Robin Hood. Just as dramatic as the persecution of the butcher is the recreation of the emotional rift between the strikers who fought against Margaret Thatcher and those who went to work, who are still insulted with the name scobs (scabs) forty years later.
Miller would say that these are two mega-identities, that is, political identifications that determine the rest of people's beliefs and behaviors.. The sociologist explains in his book how any process of polarization is designed by the elite of one or more parties, which exploit specific social discontent for their benefit.
He divides it into three phases: the ideological, the emotional and the daily.. The irreconcilable ruptures between the relatives of the miners (or supporters and detractors of the procés) are a faithful expression of the latter.. Beyond fiction, in the United States only 4% of marriages take place between voters of the two hegemonic formations.
For a party to be successful in polarizing the electorate, it must succeed in putting ideology before spaces of agreement with the purpose of breaking them into two blocs, whose members do not speak to each other and morally detest the opposing leader.
It is indisputable that Spain arrives at this polarized campaign. In the 1980s, Miller explains, society rewarded those who provided stability. Today identity is rewarded. After the populist strategy with which Podemos trapped the PSOE after the financial crisis, Vox tries to do the same with the PP.
The novelty (and this is already a heuristic of its own) lies in the messages of the two big parties. Pedro Sánchez needs to maintain the homogeneous division between the sides. Hence, he attends the elections as the leader of a block, beyond the PSOE. To be successful, you need to present the PP as the head of another block and prevent communication channels between voters. The chosen formula is to hyper-ideologize the campaign and present his rival as an “anti-system” with moderate skin.
Alberto Núñez Feijóo takes the opposite path. He appeals to his autonomy, ignores Vox, considers the populist moment over and extols the values of stability of the Transition prior to the arrival of the socialist president. There is hardly any ideology, only “repeal of sanchismo” to return to spaces of agreement.
Miller believes there is a long way to go to overcome the polarizing process.. Could be. However, there are actors who have begun to bend the curve. Employers and unions are the best example. A great example indeed.